Pearls are a staple in a royal jewel vault, don't you agree? Most of the major royal collections have at least one pearl tiara at their disposal, and many have multiple options. Obviously, special space in your ultimate tiara collection should be devoted to pearls - two spaces, to be exact.
Pick your ultimate pearl drop tiara!
AND
Pick your ultimate standard pearl tiara!
Yes, we have two spots to pick this time around, so let's get to it. I'm splitting this into two distinct categories: pearl drops and just, you know, regular pearl tiaras. (By the way, there are oodles of links here - they will take you either to an entry on this blog with more info, or to a photo of the tiara in use.)
Choice #1: Dangling Pearl Drop
Pearl drop tiaras are defined here as those with dangling pearl drops. It's quite a popular tiara design, these pearl pendants swinging from diamond frameworks, with plenty of examples to pick from.
The British collection offers two prominent examples.
The Cambridge Lover's Knot was originally made as a replica of another tiara. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, to learn that there are multiple lover's knot tiaras out there with close to identical designs.
1. The Yusupova Lover's Knot Tiara, worn by Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova
2. The Bavarian Lover's Knot Tiara, worn by Antonia, Crown Princess of Bavaria
3. The Saxony Lover's Knot Tiara, worn by Princess Maria Immaculata of Saxony
4.The Patiala Lovers Knot Tiara, worn by Rajmata Mohinder Kaur of Patiala
5. The Toro Lover's Knot Tiara, worn by Queen Best, mother of the King of Toro
Plus, drop pearl tiaras come in all kinds of other forms:
1. The Pearl Poiré Tiara, from Denmark
2. The Mellerio Shell Tiara, from Spain
3. Alexandra Feodorovna's Pearl Drop Tiara, sold to the Duchess of Marlborough and then to Imelda Marcos, who apparently had it dismantled
4. The Cartier Pearl Drop Tiara, from Monaco
5. The Romanov Pearl Drop Tiara, also worn by Alexandra Feodorovna
6. A modern Cartier version with central feather
7. Princess Anastasia of Greece's Cartier Tiara, with drop pearls and diamonds
9. An option apparently from Prussian royalty
And there are more out there, of course.Choice #2: Standard Pearl
Second, I'll ask you to choose a regular pearl tiara - one that doesn't include dangling drops, but does include pretty much whatever else you like.
Upright drop pearls are always popular.
1. The Ancona Tiara, from Italy
2. Empress Eugénie's Pearl and Diamond Tiara, from France
4. The Antique Pearl Tiara, from the Netherlands
5. A pearl-topped fringe from the Romanov collection
7. The Württemberg Ornate Pearl Tiara, from the Netherlands
8. Queen Maud's Pearl and Diamond Tiara, from Norway, also available in a smaller pearl form
Round pearls work as toppers, too.
1. The Cartier Loop Tiara, from Spain
2. The Kent Festoon Tiara, from Britain
3. The Chaumet Diamond Pearl Choker Tiara, from Luxembourg
4. Princess Takamado's Tiara, from Japan
5. Mary's Wedding Tiara with added pearls, from Denmark
6. The Lotus Flower Tiara, from Britain
7. King Olav's Gift Tiara, from Norway
8. Princess Claire's Diamond and Pearl Tiara, from Belgium
9. The Kent Diamond and Pearl Fringe Tiara, from Britain
Or you can just incorporate them any which way you please.
1. The George IV State Diadem, from Britain
2. The Rosebery Tiara, formerly in the collection of the Westminsters but recently sold
3. Queen Margherita's Musy Tiara, from Italy
4. The Mountbatten Star Tiara, from the Mountbatten family
5. The Pearl Button Tiara, from the Netherlands
7. The Antique Corsage Tiara, from Greece
8. The Ogilvy Tiara, from Britain
9. The Cartier Diamond and Pearl Tiara, from Spain
And seriously, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
For reference, here's how your Ultimate Tiara Collection is looking so far:
Ready to vote for your favorite?
-Vote for two tiaras in the comments, one for each category. (If you're mentioning multiple tiaras in your comment, indicate which two get your vote, or I will just count the first applicable two. One comment vote per person, please.)
-I will also count the number of "likes" or up arrows on those comments, so you can vote that way too.
-Non-royal tiaras and tiaras that no longer exist are fair game too.
Programming note: The blog is on vacation next week. (I'll still be posting at the Jewel Vault, where it will be a busy week for the Queen.) I will put up an open post on Monday for those of you that would like to chat while we're on hiatus so we can keep that separate from the voting, make it a little easier for me in the tallying stage. I'll leave this post open until Wednesday for voting.
UPDATE: Thanks for all your contributions, voting is now closed!
Photos: Sotheby's/Christie's/Geoffrey Munn/Getty Images/India News/Scanpix
